Best lamp for plant growing - Dart frogs

[clownonfire]

Hi all,

I've been researching what would be the best lamps in order to cater to plants in a vivarium for darts. From my research, 3 things seem to factor the growth and well being of plants: good watering, good air ventilation and good light.

I've read that lights that have a 6700 Kelvin rating seem to be generally suggested, as it mimics the sun around noon time. In order to have good photosynthesis, it needs to have a PAR (Photosynthetically Active Radiation) in the range of 650 to 670 nm. AND. For good plant growth, the bulbs should have a high concentration of light in the 430-475 nm range.

Now after all of this, I have opted for 2 Exo-Terra Repti Glo 2.0 for my 25 gallon tank. My frogs will only be arriving in June which means I have 3 good months to get the plants rocking. According to the Exo-Terra site, these Fluorescent bulbs have a 6700 Kelvin rating, and a high concentration of light in the 400-490 nm range. Now they have a low PAR, which is the only part they seem to be lacking in.



How does this sound? Any other ideas, or factors that should be taken in consideration? Any other brands I should be looking into? This information could be very useful to many.

Thank you,

Eric

[MikeM670]

Eric,

For the 55 I have I am using two bulbs.

T5 HO 54w 46" Zoo Med Flora Sun (Max Plant Growth) 5,000K maximize growth of live aquarium plants.

T5 HO 54w 46" Zoo Med Ultra Sun (Super Daylight) 6,500K brings out the full colors of your fish, plants, corals and inverts. (I'm going to guess frogs as well )
These two bulbs are the straight type and span the entire thank width.

For the Zoo Med 18x18x24 I went with two Exo Terra Repti Glow 5.0 UVB 26w.

The T5's are much brighter and I think will really bring out the plant growth. The Exo Terra bulbs in comparison don't make the tank very bright. These are spiral compact florescent lights. The reflector is not as polished as the Zoo Meds and if you went with higher end T5 Units they have very highly polished individual reflectors that maximize the light reflection back into the tank. Not sure how the plant growth will go in that Zoo Med viv and I may end up having to replace that light fixture with a T5 system.

Now if your lighting needs are not very great the spiral 26w bulbs would be adequate for general lighting.

[clownonfire]

Thanks Mike. Let me research these lights and I'll get back to the thread with more info.
E.

[Tony]

This is what I use: Philips 32-Watt 4ft. T8 Daylight Deluxe Linear Fluorescent ALTO Light Bulb 10pk - 152355 at The Home Depot

[clownonfire]

Eric,

For the 55 I have I am using two bulbs.

T5 HO 54w 46" Zoo Med Flora Sun (Max Plant Growth) 5,000K maximize growth of live aquarium plants.

T5 HO 54w 46" Zoo Med Ultra Sun (Super Daylight) 6,500K brings out the full colors of your fish, plants, corals and inverts. (I'm going to guess frogs as well )
These two bulbs are the straight type and span the entire thank width.

For the Zoo Med 18x18x24 I went with two Exo Terra Repti Glow 5.0 UVB 26w.

The T5's are much brighter and I think will really bring out the plant growth. The Exo Terra bulbs in comparison don't make the tank very bright. These are spiral compact florescent lights. The reflector is not as polished as the Zoo Meds and if you went with higher end T5 Units they have very highly polished individual reflectors that maximize the light reflection back into the tank. Not sure how the plant growth will go in that Zoo Med viv and I may end up having to replace that light fixture with a T5 system.

Now if your lighting needs are not very great the spiral 26w bulbs would be adequate for general lighting.

I used the Repti Glow 5.0 UVB 26w, but the Kelvin unit on them is a bit too long, and they were not recommended by a breeder. So I changed them for the 2.0 which doesn't look as great as they are much brighter. I was told that mixing a 5.0 and a 2.0 bulbs would do a nice job, as it would be a perfect combination of Kelvin rating and PAR.

The Philips T8 is much cheaper in price than the Zoo Med T5, but that doesn't surprise me. Everything that is "animal/pet" oriented costs a fortune. Which is why I get most of my stuff at the local hardware store.

I can't seem to find the product sheets for the two, though, although they both have a 6500 Kelvin rating, which is great.

I found this great tool however to find the specs of the Philips lamps: Philips - T8

Eric

[DonLisk]

I use one T8 on the Darts Viv and two compact fluorescents.
a 24inch GE Aquarium 18-Watt T8 Fluorescent Bulb available at Lowes which shows a 10000K color temperature on the bulb.

The two compacts are from Home Depot and are EcoSmart 14-Watt (60W) Daylight CFL Light Bulbs which have 5500K on the bulb for color temp.

On the Red Eyes viv I have two Repti-glo 2.0s which work nicely and all my plants seem to do well.
The Whites have a EcoSmart 26-Watt (100W) Daylight CFL Light Bulb and this throws tons of light compared to the 26 watt Repti-Sun I had in use. This Ecosmart only shows 5000K color temp on the bulb.

[Socrates]

Eric what type of plants are you growing in the viv? I always go by that, because all plants are slightly different. For example, in my mossy frog tank and white's tank I have the EXO Terra Repti Glo 2.0 compact with 6700 K (full length bulb for my mossy's they're in a 20 breeder). I like the 6700 K b/c it has the full spectrum of light (covers a lot of plant types). But if you are going to be growing plants that are located lower in the different canopy layers of a forest.

[itzjezze]

Eric ur awsome lol im at petsmart lookin at there bulbs and now I know wich one to get XD you always seem to have an answer for everything lol thanks again

[clownonfire]

Eric what type of plants are you growing in the viv? I always go by that, because all plants are slightly different. For example, in my mossy frog tank and white's tank I have the EXO Terra Repti Glo 2.0 compact with 6700 K (full length bulb for my mossy's they're in a 20 breeder). I like the 6700 K b/c it has the full spectrum of light (covers a lot of plant types). But if you are going to be growing plants that are located lower in the different canopy layers of a forest.

Socrates, sorry for the delay, I just saw this one. Here are the plants that I am growing in that particular 29G:

1X Neoregelia Nivea.
1X Philodendron Erubescens.
1X Ficus pumilia.
1X Ficus oak leaf.
2X Phalaenopsis Orchids

There's also live sphagnum moss in it.

I myself am using 2 Repti Glo 2.0 compact lights with Glow Light fixtures and all these plants are doing great in it. I have picked up a T5 light unit for my 50G, and more of the Repti Glo 2.0/Glow Light fixtures for the new 29G, just to make comparisons.